Why me, why now?

First, the answer to why now? I am a well practiced procrastinator myself, and I can fairly say, that it is a good feeling, when we are brave! I promise I’ll do my best to make you feel like it was a good idea to start putting yourself first.

I have spent a great deal of my life actively working on developing insight and awareness of my own beliefs, thoughts and behaviours and how these contribute to the success of my life goals. From a young age, I was fascinated with people and early on, decided that I thought that all humans are inherently good.

I also recall figuring out very early on, that many people seemed to struggle with who they are. I noticed that everyone is seeking to ‘do better, be better.’ This realisation has always driven my strong values of empathy, integrity and kindness. It has helped me to deeply listen to people’s stories in ways that (I hope) help people feel valued, seen and understood.

Over my adult life, I have had the privilege of working in such diverse fields with incredible humans. I have been able to observe the many ways we struggle to cope with and enjoy life.

This mixed and colourful background provides the foundation of my therapy and means that I bring a full and whole ‘experience of life’ to the therapy space.

I am committed to my own growth journey and have learned invaluable skills to ensure I am able to support others to learn to be more mindful, more compassionate and more accepting of themselves.

Yoga, hiking, music, cooking and family are some of the areas that I rely on to care for myself and to be a better therapist.

I am able to draw from all my fields of practice including Music, Business Management, Community Services and Counselling to ensure that I can attempt to walk in your shoes to better understand how to support you.

I have a special interest in bringing both lived experience & learning as much as I can to walk as an ally alongside;

• Queer communities

• People from culturally and linguistically diverse communities

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• All peoples experiencing marginalisation

And finally, I have also lived a life which is not free of crisis, trauma, loss or mental health challenges. I have cared for many people going through very challenging grief and adversity and have personally felt the full force of life’s most painful experiences. This allows me to hold your pain with care and hopefully allows a space for you to build trust and openness in therapy.

Golden Point Counselling (GPC) is the culmination of many years of dreaming and passion driven work. GPC is an established Counselling Service in Bendigo & Castlemaine. I have been practicing as a counsellor in both private and community settings for 10 years. In this time I have delivered individual, group and family therapy in private and community service organisations throughout Victoria.

My therapy skills were honed earlier in my career as I worked as a mentor, coach and facilitator in a variety of settings including youth mentorship and leadership programs, group wellbeing retreats in Bali and Organisational Cultural Workshop facilitation in the corporate sector.

I also spent many years in management positions in the non-profit sector providing human development services for the staff delivering community programs. I am an avid reader and voracious learner, and have had an interest in the human mind and spirit from a very young age. I always dreamed of being a therapist and I am grateful to all the experiences and people who have fostered my journey to come to this work.

I take my role as therapist very seriously and consider it a privilege to witness the courage of people as they reach out and begin their recover journey. Many clients work with me over a period of years as their lives grow and change and they continue to discover more about themselves and how they work.

I have, and always will, learn more from my clients than they learn from me.

Social Worker

Social workers bring very useful and important skills into the therapy space. We are trained to listen to the ‘whole story’ of people’s lives. Though we receive much of the same clinical training and experience as psychologists, we also spend time getting to know how social issues impact your mental health. Social workers bring a perspective that views your mental health within the context of complex issues such as childhood abuse and trauma, housing, financial pressures, discrimination and the impact of power and control.

As a social worker and community development professional I have spent over 25 years working alongside people as they engage with programs and services to seek a better future. I have worked with;

• Community engagement programs to support stability and grown for children and families

• Children and young people engaged in creative educational programs in disadvantaged schools

• Youth leadership training to foster life skills, learning and curiosity for adolescents

• Supporting disadvantaged women seeking to get work and engage in lifelong training

• Newly arrived refugee and migrant families

• Women and children escaping family violence and building new and resilient lives

• Adolescents and their families struggling with complex and aggressive behaviours in the home

• Environmental Education programs (climate change,

  * have volunteered with many of these organisations and supported the advocacy and betterment of social and environmental programs through raising awareness of the disadvantage and discrimination many people experience

If you would like to know more about the profession of Social Work please visit the AASW Australian Association of Social Workers